would you choose ship or itinerary?

[shayelle]

I have having a really hard time deciding which cruise to book. We have done 10 rccl cruises. We have been on the Majesty, Monarch, Enchantment, Voyager, Navigator, Serenade. So, we have been on some of the smaller ships.

 

We are looking at a cruise out of Venice in July. First option is a 10 night Greek Isles on the Splendour. Great itinerary.

 

Venice, Italy; Split, Croatia; Corfu, Greece; Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Santorini, Greece; Mykonos, Greece; Katakolon, Greece; Venice, Italy.

 

But how's the ship? Is it really dated? No speciality dining right?

 

Second is 8 night E. Med. on the Voyager. Itinerary is Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Bari, Italy; Venice, Italy. How is this itinerary?

 

We want to go sight seeing but we wouldn't mind a beach day or 2 as well. I feel better on the bigger ships (less motion). If the 10 night was on a more updated ship I would choose it for sure. It is quite a bit more money as well, although that wouldn't be the deciding factor.

 

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Anubi]

IMHO I'd go with itinerary. You're so tired with the port intensive cruise that the ship doesn't matter. :)

[RaiderFaninNM]

For our upcoming cruise, it was the ship.......................:D ;)

[FreshOffTheBoat]

If your making the long flight over to europe I definiatly would go with itinerary. For me personally ports are very imporant.

[cheshire cat]

always itinerary for me.

[PCWalton1]

If your making the long flight over to europe I definiatly would go with itinerary. For me personally ports are very imporant.

 

I agree, the itinerary is the choice I would take. We had a JS on our western med cruise last year and hardly made use of the balcony since we were on the go so much.

[debshomespun]

10 nights is better than 8! Especially when you fly all the way to Europe. Also, you could add on a couple extra days to get your "beach days". Our preferred cruiseline is RC, but we wanted to go to the South Pacific, and not have to fly there. We went on the Holland America 30 night cruise on one of their older smaller ships, Ryndam, just under 1,000 passengers. We had many sea days, along with many port days in Hawaii, and the South Pacific. What we found with the smaller ship was a more intimite cruise experience. When we take a very port intensive cruise, the ship is acting more like a floating hotel. You will find it as your base to sleep, and eat. The entertainment will be a bonus, especially if you are out touring all day long.

 

Hope this helps you to decide.

[MikeNJ1109]

If going to Europe, we'd pick for itinerary.

 

If going to the Carribean, we'd pick the ship as we've been to most of the ports offered.

 

Michael and Silke

[sailawayjack]

I have having a really hard time deciding which cruise to book. We have done 10 rccl cruises. We have been on the Majesty, Monarch, Enchantment, Voyager, Navigator, Serenade. So, we have been on some of the smaller ships.

 

We are looking at a cruise out of Venice in July. First option is a 10 night Greek Isles on the Splendour. Great itinerary.

 

Venice, Italy; Split, Croatia; Corfu, Greece; Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Santorini, Greece; Mykonos, Greece; Katakolon, Greece; Venice, Italy.

 

But how's the ship? Is it really dated? No speciality dining right?

 

Second is 8 night E. Med. on the Voyager. Itinerary is Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Bari, Italy; Venice, Italy. How is this itinerary?

 

We want to go sight seeing but we wouldn't mind a beach day or 2 as well. I feel better on the bigger ships (less motion). If the 10 night was on a more updated ship I would choose it for sure. It is quite a bit more money as well, although that wouldn't be the deciding factor.

 

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

:cool:I would go for the 8 night cruise. Newer ship, speciality restaurants, and DUBROVNIK. Went on 12-nt and hit Dubrovnik. Was not expecting anything, but was really impressed by this city. Go over 2 days early to visit Venice. Take island ferry cruise to Burono, or the lace island. Great place and locals make lace goods. Use money saved from cruise to put to venice visit:cool:

[April-in-NC]

For a port intensive itinerary it is ALL about the ports for me. As long as the ship isn't a rust bucket I'll be okay. :)

[01Sweetpea]

Since you're looking at Europe, I'd pick it based on ports. The way I look at it is...how many times will you get to go back to Europe and travel? If you think you'll go often, then possibly skip a port or two. If this is a once or twice in a lifetime trip, then I'd take every advantage to go to every single port.

[Ray in NH]

We almost always (danged pesky exceptions) base our cruising decision on itinerary (what we can experience overall, not just number of days). Just about everyone has their own way of deciding what is best for them. I know that sometimes we might choose the less than optimal itin, but that is our fault. Continuing to keep trying to "get it right" is the fun part.

Ray in NH

[bplazo]

Always the ports.

[bionicman97]

Another vote for Itinerary in Europe :)

[critterchick]

I'd go for the itinerary, too. I might even wait until next year - Splendour is getting a whole new look:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSiteletSub.do?pagename=sub_royal_advantage_SP&pagenameMain=royal_advantage_main&discriminators=0

 

Although she'll be doing shorter cruises, so you'd have to book a B2B...

[Debde]

As long as the ship isn't a rust bucket I'll be okay. :)

 

This made me laugh out loud!!!!:D

[taxgal]

Rust bucket or not, for our dozen cruises it has always been the ports for me and my DH.

[joyride21]

Another vote for itinerary. I had actually "planned" on doing the 10 night in 2012 - imagine my disappointment when I discovered Royal isn't offering it next year.

[richstowe]

Neither. Always the right date and the right ;)$$$s

[stripe]

My vote is for itinerary. As others have said, there is so much to see.....who spends time on the ship? Besides, I've never been on a "bad" RCCL ship!! They all have their good points.

[Stags14]

For a European cruise, the ship is basically transportation imo. It's a comfortable way to see several different places - so you go for a heavy port load on whatever ship - at least I would.

 

For the Caribbean - I we tend to pick a less hectic itinerary - 3 stops in a week is good for us - relaxing on the ship is where it's at in our opinion. But Europe.... you wanna soak in the culture, landscape and cuisine as much as possible when you're over there.

 

Vote: Itinerary.

[suekay]

No contest. Itinerary and 10 nights. we've been on Splendour multiple times and find it just as enjoyable as the Voyager class (PLUS if you get a windy seaday, the sundeck outside the spa on deck 9 is sheltered)

[orville99]

We start with the origination port - if we can drive to it rather than fly to it, it wins out. Then it's what ships sail out of that port that fits our vacation schedule. Once it's between ship and itinerary, since we rarely get off the ship anymore, the ship with the onboard amenities that best fits our comfort level wins.:)

 

We only start with itinerary if we have to fly to get to the port.

[jcl410]

I would have no problem going on the Splendor OTS. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but like the Enchantment, there is lots of glass to look out. In addition, the lower level of the dining room is on the same deck as the external promenade.... that means 2 stories of glass! (The Splendor and Legend are the only 2 Vision class ships that have that feature.)

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Lexi731]

My vote is for the itinerary